Atlanta named 7th best city for STEM professionals

Careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics are rapidly growing in popularity across the United States, thanks to their high salaries and fewer threats to job stability. But being a STEM professional doesn’t mean you have to restrict yourself to Silicon Valley.

Analysts over at personal finance website WalletHub sought to find America’s best STEM markets in the country’s 100 most populated metros. They compared the cities across three key dimensions: professional opportunities, STEM-friendliness and quality of life.

The dimensions were further evaluated using 17 relevant metrics, such as job openings for STEM grads, demand for STEM jobs by 2020, annual median wage, housing affordability, disparity of women and men in STEM and more.

The metro’s 2019 rank is a nice bump from WalletHub’s best and worst areas for STEM professionals ranking last year, when it placed 10th overall.

Atlanta was also previously named one of the top 5 up-and-coming tech meccas in the nation by Forbes Magazine and was listed among America’s “Tech 25” by global firm Cushman & Wakefield. It’s also one of the five U.S. metros where tech salaries tend to go furthest, according to Indeed’s Hiring Lab.